Construction of transgenic silkworm spinning antibacterial silk with fluorescence

Abstract

A targeting vector consisting of a fusion gene of the green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene gfp and the antimicrobial peptide cecropin gene cec flanked by pieces of the 5′ and 3′ sequences of the fibroin L chain gene fib-L of the silkworm (Bombyx mori) and a negative selection DsRed marker gene driven by the baculovirus immediate early gene 1 (i.e.-1) promoter, was used to target the silkworm genome in order to explore the possibility of improving the performance of silk. A transgenic silkworm with a green fluorescent cocoon was obtained and PCR analysis of its genome confirmed that the target genes had been integrated into the silkworm genome correctly. Furthermore, in the posterior silk glands of the G6 generation transformation silkworm, a band representing the fusion protein Fib-L-GFP-Cec with a molecular mass of 68.7 kDa was detected by western blotting with an antibody against GFP. An investigation of the number of bacteria attached to a cocoon showed the transgenic silkworm cocoon possessed antibacterial properties. These results suggested the performance of silk can be improved by modifying the fibroin gene.